We know something of the sweetness of his friendship because we’ve tasted honey. That’s why honey exists. That’s the way the Bible uses it. Honey exists to help you know God. We know something of his sustaining richness because we’ve eaten bread when we’re hungry. Not fluffy white stuff that you make fish bait out of — really solid French bread or German bread, you know? If you’ve eaten that, you know God better — or you’re an idolater.

“Whatever is good in this life is designed by God as a foretaste of what it’s like to enjoy him.”

We know something of the warmth of his affections because we remember being held by our mother. We know something of the personal depths and exquisite intensity of person-to-person pleasure because we have felt sexual desire. That’s what sex is for: to know God, taste God. And we know something of his worth because we have coveted gold, and even our sins bear witness to his worth.

So, whatever action is good in this life, whatever idea is good and true, whatever thing you see or hear or taste or touch, God’s creation — all of it — is designed by God as a sign and a foretaste of what it’s like to enjoy God himself.